


Keep Dreaming

by Demon Dreams (ScribeAzari)



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Crossover If You Squint, Gen, Henry knows but he doesn't know the whole of it, Joey isn't okay, Pre-studio, Snippet, possibly Hurt/Comfort?, pre-game, the characters are kids, ties into Lost and Found
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 10:41:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21196340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScribeAzari/pseuds/Demon%20Dreams
Summary: Joey and Henry were friends once, before bitterness parted their ways. Before they had the seeds of a dream about a dancing demon, and before the biggest question in their lives was more than where they were going to go to school.





	Keep Dreaming

The air was chilly, tousling Joey’s barely-brushed black hair like an unseen hand of ice. Sat upon the old, wooden park bench, he lightly kicked his skinny heels against the ground, staring vacantly up into the sky as though that could compell the empty air to yield more than the woollen sea of grey above. It should have been here by now. He should’ve had _something_ – his birthday had been a month ago already, but he’d not seen sheaf nor glue of the letter he’d been fervently hoping to see.

Both of his parents had been in their time, and it would only have been right and fitting for him to follow in their footsteps. However, all the hoping and dreaming in the world couldn’t instill a natural aptitude that singularly refused to manifest, whatever he tried. He’d been so _excited_ about the thought of getting to attend his parents’ old school – so many of the anecdotes he’d overheard about them had involved it, after all, and that was even without the possibilities it could lay out before him. He’d pictured himself in its halls, Henry by his side (of course), having his own schooltime adventures.

He’d have been _happy,_ and carving out a future his family could take pride in. He could almost see the smiles, almost hear the approval in their voices – he yearned for it, and getting into their old school had been his best bet for securing that for himself. However, the problem with prestigious, select institutions was – well, they were select, weren’t they? Obviously, he didn’t make the cut.

He jumped as a warm hand came to rest against his shoulder, jolting out of his stewing. “Are you okay?” He’d have known that concerned voice anywhere. Henry’s face was a welcome relief from the turmoil of his thoughts, even if it was all too obvious from the cast of those warm brown eyes that his friend was worried about him.

“Oh, you know, the usual...” Joey sighed, as his best friend sank onto the bench beside him. “I really thought that last thing we tried would’ve worked...” Well, to be more precise, he’d thrown himself into it with all the fervour of a dog spotting an unattended buffet. He’d pinned his hopes to it, as he had with all their previous attempts, and hadn’t let himself think too hard about the possibility that it might not work. Winners didn’t let themselves get tripped up by doubt, according to his dad, so he had to believe. Only… it hadn’t worked.

“At least we’ll still be able to go to the same school – I didn’t get a letter either, remember?” That… _was_ a point, though he wasn’t sure how Henry was able to be so positive about it. His folks had expected him to get in too, after all. Maybe there was still hope, though – they could still be late bloomers, maybe, if only they could figure out how to unlock their potential…

“You’re right...” He sighed, leaning against his friend. “But let’s keep trying anyway… There’s always a chance...” He couldn’t give up yet – so long as there was even a sliver of a chance, he had to keep trying, keep dreaming. With enough effort, dreams could come true, right?


End file.
